I'm Going After Deer This Summer With My Bow

[Malbo]

I've decided to go after Deer here in AZ during the Aug/Sep General Archery hunt. I am still in my first year of Archery. I did the hunt in January with no luck but learned alot. I know the summer is going to be different.

Here's the game plan so far. I found a nice little spring right next to a big canyon that was tracked up pretty well in January with alot of White Tail and a couple Mulie tracks. I am heading up this weekend to see if it is still flowing and will hang a camera if it is. I also have a couple of backup springs to check out if not.

Depending on our monsoon season it makes sense to me to sit water and wait if we don't get some good rain. If it's pretty wet I plan on glassing the canyon all day and try to find one bedded down and do my best to sneak within range and not find any rattlesnakes in the process.

The questions I do have are about scent control. I know it's going to be hot or hot/ humid, so any advice on clothing will he appreciated. Also I was thinking of a home brew cover scent. I was thinking of boiling some stuff from the area like Juniper and Scrub Oak bark, leaves, and maybe a little water from the spring itself.

Any pointers from anyone who has hunted deer in the late summer months would be awesome.

 

[Devil Diver Down]

Best of luck on the hunt and I hope you're able to still find water running at that spot. This spring and summer so far hasn't done us any favors. If things stand - sitting water could be very productive. I'd wait to see what kind of monsoon rains Arizona receives before settling on any one tactic as other sources the deer know about might open up with rain.

I think the idea of using juniper/oak from the area is a good direction but my experience has been that if you have the wind wrong, it won't matter if you had a doe pee on your head. Those deer will take off if they smell you.

 

[Malbo]

Thanks. Being winded is my biggest concern. The main piece of land is pretty flat and I noticed that the wind likes to change direction in there alot.

 

[Biscuit Hunter]

Depending on our monsoon season it makes sense to me to sit water and wait if we don't get some good rain. If it's pretty wet I plan on glassing the canyon all day and try to find one bedded down and do my best to sneak within range and not find any rattlesnakes in the process.

I haven't hunted that season, but last year I did quite a bit of scouting in that time frame. The area I concentrated on last year was at about 5300' elevation, mixed scrub oak and PJ, with a ton of available water and great green up from the monsoon. My son and I saw both bucks and does up and feeding as early as 1:30 pm, all the way to twilight. Here are a couple of pics taken on Sept. 7th. The first pic was taken a bit after 2 pm, the second a bit before 6 pm.









What we noticed was that the deer in this area seemed more interested in green grass than anything else. None of the water sources that we checked showed a lot of fresh sign. During the day they seemed to be moving through the thicker areas, as in the first pic, and towards twilight they would come out from the edges into larger meadows, as in the second pic. Point is, if the monsoon is decent, you might be best off to concentrate on feeding areas, as they seem to spend a lot of time taking advantage of the bonanza of green, and less concerned with standing water. You might be surprised at how much they move and feed throughout the afternoon.

 

[Malbo]

Nice! That is some great info, I really appreciate it.